The Goal of the Year is a

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indiv ...

for the best

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

ed in the Australian Football League (AFL) during that season. It is run in conjunction with the

Mark of the Year The annual Australian Football League Mark of the Year competition (currently also known as the Four'N Twenty AFL Mark of the Year) is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark. A mark is the action of a player cleanly catchin ...

competition and is currently sponsored by Rebel Sport. The winner is awarded the Phil Manassa Medal. The concept of awards for the goal and mark of the year is thought to have been initiated in 1970, as an unofficial award given by the media to Alex Jesaulenko following his famous

mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

in that season's grand final. The official awards were first given in 2001.

Eddie Betts Edward Robert Betts III (born 26 November 1986) is a former Australian rules football player who played as a forward for Carlton and Adelaide in the Australian Football League. Betts was originally drafted by Carlton with pick No. 3 in the 2 ...

has been awarded Goal of the Year on an unparalleled four occasions (2006, 2015, 2016 and 2019), the most of any player, and is the only player to win the award in consecutive seasons.

Selection process

Each week, three of the best goals of the round (including the finals) are selected as nominees. A panel of AFL selectors choose the winning

of the round. For the first time in 2006, the general public are able to vote for nominated marks via the AFL's website. The results of the public voting are combined with the panel's votes. Any one of the goals of the round is able to win the official Goal of the Year. The overall winner is selected from the 25 weekly winners (22 rounds and the first three weeks of the finals) by the AFL All Australian selection committee; the public is not given a say in the final outcome. The winner receives the Phil Manassa Medal, a replica of the perpetual Toyota AFL Goal of the Year Trophy, use of a Toyota Aurion for twelve months, and $10,000 for their grassroots football club. The winner will be announced on Grand Final day. Goal of the Year is generally awarded to a player who creates and scores a difficult goal in play; it has never been, and is unlikely to ever be, awarded to a goal kicked from a set shot. Historically, it has been the quality of the creation of the goal which determines the winner, rather than the difficulty of the shot itself. As such, simply kicking a goal from the boundary line will not guarantee a player Goal of the Year, but if they have roved the ball cleanly off a pack (like

Jason Akermanis Jason Dean Akermanis (born 24 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears ...

in 2002) or won the ball by stealing or smothering it from an opponent (like Peter Bosustow in 1981), then they will generally come into Goal of the Year calculations. Players are also often rewarded for orchestrating a long run down the field which ends with a big goal on the run: Daniel Kerr in 2003 and Michael McGuane in 1994 are memorable examples. Many of the best goals in the VFL/AFL were featured in a VHS/

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

named ''Golden Goals''.

Goal of the year

Official winners (2001–present)

;Legend

Earlier winner (1976–2001)

;Legend

AFL Women's winners (2017–)

;Legend {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;" , - !Year!!Winner!!Team!!Description!!Video , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2022 (A) , ,

Ebony Antonio Ebony Antonio (born 18 December 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Antonio represented The Allies in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match in 2017, and won AFL ...

, , , , Round 1 goal against at Fremantle Oval. Antonio gathers 50 metres out on the boundary, evades an opponent, and kicks a goal from 30m out on the boundary off the outside of her boot. , , , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2021 , , Courtney Hodder , , {{AFLW Bri , , Round 9 goal against {{AFLW Mel at Casey Fields. Hodder was at the edge of the 50 metre arc, where she kicks it up to herself, and kicks a right foot drop punt from tight on the boundary. , , , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2020 , ,

Kate Hore Kate Hore (born 25 March 1995) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Hore was recruited by Melbourne as a rookie signing in May 2017. She made her debut in the six point win again ...

, , {{AFLW Mel , , Round 6 goal against Carlton at Traeger Park. Hore collects the ball in the middle of the ground, takes three bounces to reach inside 50, passes it off to a teammate, receives it back and then snaps on a sharp angle from 10 metres out. , , , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2019 , , Ashley Sharp , , {{AFLW Fre , , Round 2 goal against Brisbane at Fremantle Oval. Sharp collects the ball in the centre of the ground, takes 2 bounces and completes the shot from 40 metres out from goal. , , , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2018 , , Aliesha Newman , , {{AFLW Mel , , Round 2 goal against Adelaide at Casey Fields. Newman collects the ball on the wing, takes 3 bounces into the forward pocket and kicks a 20 metre banana. , , , - style="background:#cfecec;" , 2017 , ,

Erin Phillips Erin Victoria Phillips (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian rules footballer for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, a radio host, and a former professional basketball player. She played nine seasons in the Wo ...

, , {{AFLW Ade , , Round 3 goal against Carlton at Thebarton Oval. Phillips takes a mark and bombs a long goal from outside the 50 metre arc. , , {{cite web, title=AFLW: The best goals of 2017, url=https://www.afl.com.au/video/173572/aflw-the-best-goals-of-2017?videoId=173572&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1514746800001, work=womens.afl, access-date=23 June 2021, date=1 January 2018 , -

References

{{reflist

External links

AFL Goal of the Year CompetitionYouTube video of the Goals of the Year in 2005YouTube video of the Goals of the Year in 2002YouTube video of Robbie Ahmat's Goal of the Year in 2000YouTube video of Mark Merends's Goal of the Year in 2001YouTube video of Andrew Bews's Goal of the year in 1985

YouTube video of Peter Bosustow's Goal of the Year in 1981
{{Goal of the Year {{Australian Football League awards {{Australian Football League Australian Football League awards Australian rules football awards